Katy, TX News (May 8, 2017) – A total of 20 nurses across Memorial Hermann earned recognition among the best in their profession in the region, including Melissa Evans, RN, at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, who was named one of Houston’s Top 10 Nurses of the Year by the Houston Chronicle. Additionally, 19 other Memorial Hermann nurses across the System were named to the Chronicle’s overall Top 150 “Salute to Nurses” 2017 list.

Each May during National Nurses Week – which aligns with the birthday week of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing – the Houston Chronicle honors the role nurses play in delivering care to the Houston community with its annual “Salute to Nurses” list. Hundreds of nurses are nominated by the Houston community and nominees are then selected by a panel. From the official nominees, 10 outstanding nursing professionals are chosen to be honored as greater Houston’s Top 10 Nurses of the Year.

“As we celebrate National Nurses Week, we thank and appreciate all of our nurses across the System who serve the Houston community and deliver compassionate, high quality care to our patients. We also want to congratulate all who made the Top 150 ‘Salute to Nurses’ 2017 list,” said Chuck Stokes, RN, FACHE, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Memorial Hermann. “Nurses are the backbone of our System and we are humbled to have one of Houston’s Top 10 Nurses of the Year, Melissa Evans, as part of the Memorial Hermann family.”

Evans joined Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in 2013 as a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). As an empathetic caregiver, Evans consistently goes above and beyond in treating her patients and their families with the utmost care during the most difficult times.

“I am truly humbled to receive this recognition for doing something I am so passionate about,” she said. “Being a PICU nurse allows me to be there for our youngest and most fragile patients when they are at their most vulnerable, and for their families in a time of pain and uncertainty. I have an unwavering passion for helping others and I am fortunate I get to serve others every single day.”

Memorial Hermann employs more than 8,000 nurses across the System’s hospitals and hundreds of diagnostic and specialty centers. At Memorial Hermann, nurses have a culture of collaboration and are offered career advancement opportunities and cross-training, as well as enhanced benefits available to all employees.